Twenty-year-old Karl Barkley was sentenced June 8 2018 to two years probation for aiming a laser pen at a Police Service of Northern Ireland helicopter hovering above a crowd at a football (soccer) match. Barkley had also previously been convicted in 2015 of the same crime, recklessly endangering the safety of an aircraft, in addition to a criminal record of nine offenses.

The second offense occurred October 5 2017 during a World Cup qualifier game between Northern Ireland and Germany. The helicopter was monitoring the crowd at Windsor Park football ground when it was illuminated two times by laser light. The pilot could not fly by sight; he had to use instruments. The helicopter identified the laser as coming from a nearby home. Ground officers arrested Barkley while the helicopter retreated to the safety of Belfast City Airport.

At trial, it was noted that Barkley had a low IQ and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He was smoking marijuana in his bedroom at the time of the arrest.

The judge said a jail sentence “would not help society or prevent further offending.”

During his two-year probation, Barkley would receive help with his drug problems. The judge did note that if Barkley violated probation he “will go straight to prison.”

In 2015, Barkley’s laser conviction was dealt with by a youth diversion conference because of his age at the time.

A teenager was arrested on October 5 2017 for aiming a laser at a Police Service of Northern Ireland helicopter.

The aircraft was monitoring crowds attending a football match in Belfast. The unnamed 19-year-old was charged with endangering the safety of an aircraft and shining a light to dazzle or distract a pilot.

A Crown Court judge sentenced a 28-year-old Belfast man to eight-months in jail, suspended for two years, for aiming a laser pen at a police helicopter as it flew over the site of the MTV European Music Awards on November 6 2011.

The helicopter had been patrolling the crowd outside Odyssey Arena when Aaron McCrory aimed his laser pen at the aircraft. According to the prosecutor, McCrory had targeted the helicopter on several occasions. When questioned, McCrory first blamed children for aiming the laser, then admitted he had done it but handed over a different laser from the one used to hit the aircraft.

McCrory’s defense lawyer said the act was not done deliberately or out of animosity, but he was “messing about and that was reckless.”

At sentencing on October 7 2013, Judge Geoffrey Miller QC said McCrory was “foolish and unthinking…. If the pilot had been blinded, even momentarily, the result for all onboard could have been catastrophic and fatal, and given where the aircraft was, the consequences for those on the ground, you must appreciate, could have been unimaginable in its severity.”

A 26-year-old old man from east Belfast was given a 6-month suspended jail sentence in late October 2012, for aiming a laser pen at a police helicopter on August 17 2010. Michael Jackson pleaded guilty to endangering the safety of an aircraft. His sentence was suspended because he is a full-time caregiver for his mother-in-law.

The judge warned that “those who target aircraft in this dangerous and reckless way should expect to go to prison.”

Jackson’s lawyer said the laser was aimed at the helicopter for a total of 37 seconds, in flashes lasting 1-2 seconds each, over a 17-minute period.

According to the prosecutor, pilots are required to have an eye test after a laser incident, before being cleared to fly again. Jackson was ordered to pay £30 to cover the cost of the pilot’s eye test.

Two teenagers were charged with endangering the safety of an aircraft, after aiming a laser pen at a Police Service of Northern Ireland helicopter at 8:45 pm on March 12 2012. The aircraft was over north Belfast at the time. The two 17-year-olds will appear in Belfast Youth Court in April.

Less than three hours later, a laser was aimed at an aircraft in Glenavy, County Antrim. A male was arrested.From 2 separate BBC News reports here and here

A laser pen was aimed at a helicopter of the Police Service of Northern Ireland on September 16 2011. No suspect has been arrested, but police have spoken to a 50-year-old man, and the investigation continues. A spokesperson said "If life is lost as a result of this behaviour, those involved could not only face charges of being in possession of a dangerous weapon but could also end up facing manslaughter charges.”

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